DAA Winner: Walter L. Pomeroy, '70

It is incredibly appropriate that during the Albion College Year of Sustainability, Walt Pomeroy is being honored by his alma mater. On April 22, 1970, just weeks before his graduation from Albion College, he was a pioneer in creating and celebrating our nation's first Earth Day. The geology major appeared on a CBS-TV prime-time special hosted by Walter Cronkite that day, Earth Day: A Question of Survival. That was only the beginning of his lifelong dedication to environmental causes. He contacted activists on other college campuses who agreed that the next logical step was the formation of a student lobby for the environment. Described as "lobbyists in blue jeans" by one newspaper, the new Michigan Student Environmental Confederation took its message to the state capitol in Lansing.

In 1981 Pomeroy joined the Mid-Atlantic Division of the National Audubon Society and served there as regional vice president. He remained with the society for 17 years. He was later appointed the executive director of the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers, Inc., where he assisted in watershed and river planning, environmental clean-up activities, and public education programs throughout Pennsylvania. During his professional career, Pomeroy helped write and lobby for numerous state and federal environmental laws relating to water and air pollution, wildlife habitat preservation, and wilderness protection.

His service to his alma mater includes many visits to campus to meet with faculty, staff, and students. He has also participated in the Geology Department Colloquia, and conducted a workshop that focused on environmental activism.

His local community service includes serving as an assistant master for his local Boy Scout troop in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Pomeroy has traveled as a scoutmaster leader at the World Boy Scout Jamboree in Thailand and the Andes foothills in Chile. In 2004 he received the Boy Scout District Award of Merit for his service and leadership in the community. He continues to assist with National Audubon Society field trips as well as consulting to help watershed associations with planning and management concerns.

He and his wife, Lin, live in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. They have two sons, Brian and Brent.

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